Until the Morning Light
by clintnat
Summary: requested by zoe: "dawsey getting louie back"


Can Derek Haas + co. stop being actual living, breathing satan and his minions (yes, the yellow blobs) and give Dawson and Casey their son back? Thanks.

Just a small one-shot for Zoe, who requested this on curious cat :) I hope you enjoy!

Title from "On My Way" by Boyce Avenue (I know, cliche)

* * *

 _I wasn't there the moment  
_ _You first learned to breathe  
_ _But I'm on my way, on my way  
_ _I wasn't there the moment  
_ _You got off your knees  
_ _But I'm on my way, on my way_ _  
_

* * *

She had wanted to say no. When Tina Cantrall from Child Services called just after she'd gotten off shift, explaining that she had a child in emergency custody who was in need of a fast placement, Gabby had wanted to say no- tried to say no. She and Matt had been through so much in the past year and a half; losing their biological baby and then Louie and neither of them could handle loving another child only to have him or her taken away, not again.

But something inside of her insisted "yes" and before she knew it, she and Casey were standing outside of the 21st District of the Chicago PD the next morning- Thursday, their day off- waiting for the woman that had helped them while trying to adopt Louie.

"You sure you want to do this?" Matt asked, rubbing a circle in the palm of her hand. Gabby knew that he could sense her nerves, and that this was just as hard for him as it was her, even as he held her still.

"No," she shook her head, "But I just keep picturing Louie, and I can see his little face the first time I saw him. He was so scared and helpless, I just...if we can take that from another kid, we have to."

He nodded, understanding. Watching Louie come into their lives alone and broken, and even the Darden boys who were terrified, had stuck with him.

The sound of footsteps approaching interrupted the silent conversation that they'd been having and Dawson turned to find Tina, the social worker, walking toward them. Her pace was slow, matching that of the child whose hand she held and the sound of a rolling backpack echoed off of the concrete behind them. The little boy looked up at Casey first, a shy smile appearing on his lips and then a pair of large, brown eyes- so devastatingly familiar- met Gabby's.

 _Louie._

The pair looked up from the little boy, cautiously eyeing the social worker. A thousand questions raced through both of their minds; _was this a joke? Had something happened to Louie's father? Had something happened to Louie?_ God forbid.

"He couldn't handle it," Tina said, answering their unspoken question, "Yesterday evening, Andre came to me and told me that he couldn't raise him."

"What? Why?" Casey asked, taking the opportunity to reach out and pull the little boy into his arms. Louie immediately settled, completely content with the only real father he'd ever known.

The social worker shook her head, "I don't know. Sometimes people, even biological parents, change their minds."

"This isn't...a joke," Gabby said, trying to blink back the not-so-subtle tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. She glanced at her husband and their "almost" son.

"No. Mr. Keyes signed away his rights last night, placing Louie with an emergency family until I could contact the both of you. He didn't leave specific reasoning other than he'd made a mistake that wasn't fair to Louie, and then he was gone."

"And that's it? What about his family?"

"We can contact them if you'd like, or you can do it yourself, but Andre left specific instructions to place the boy in your care- said that he cried for you every night and that his parents shouldn't be left with the burden of raising another child when two loving people wanted to give him a family."

Gabby couldn't help the tears falling from her eyes as she looked at Louie- her son- and reached to take him out of Matt's arms, "So, you're saying he's ours?"

"Not yet, not legally. But someone from the State's Attorney's office agreed to meet with you this afternoon, seeing as you'd like to go through with the adoption?"

"Of course," they said in sync.

"Okay, then. I have to go now but we'll go over the rest of the paperwork this afternoon and get the process started again; it will take some time and most likely some configuration with the Keyes family- the may want visitation- but seeing as Louie's biological father requested that he be left with you, the process should go smoothly. You're married now with stable, albeit risky, careers and have the opportunity to provide him with a loving home. You're the perfect candidates for his adoption. It's not a done deal, but it will be."

As Tina walked away, Casey let out a sigh of relief and Dawson turned into his arms, Louie crushed between them. She couldn't help the tears that flowed down her face and the sobs that washed over her, healing a piece of what had felt so broken.

This could either be an easy road or yet another one full of obstacles, but with Louie in her arms muttering "Mommy, Daddy, I'm squished", Gabriela Dawson couldn't bring herself to worry.


End file.
